History of Belgium Men’s Hockey

Belgium made its first major appearance at World Stage in 1920 Olympics. From 2006 onwards, Belgium team also popular as The Reds started making impact. They have won only one major championship so far. But, the current Olympic Silver winners are now among the top four teams of the World and being ranked World No. 3 are certain of further glory. In World Cup, their best finish is 5th in last 5 appearances.

World Cup: 6 Appearances
At World Cup, till end of 2014 Belgium has played 29 matches, won 7, drawn 3 and lost 19, scoring 54 goals and conceding 92. In 2014 World Cup, Belgium earned finished 5th.

1973 8th
1978 14th
1994 11th
2002 14th
2014 5th
2018 TBD

1973: 8th
Placed in Pool B with 5 teams including the strong Pakistan and hosts, Netherlands, Belgium finished third with 2 wins and 3 losses, ahead of England, Malaysia and Argentina.
Results

Lost to England 5-2
Def Argentina 2-1
Lost to Netherlands 4-1
Lost to Pakistan 2-0
Def Malaysia 3-0
5-8th Crossover
Lost to Spain 5-0
7th Place Match: Lost to New Zealand 3-1

1978 14th
Belgium made second appearance after skipping 1975 World Cup. They finished last overall. Placed in Pool A, they finished at the bottom upsetting England (1-0), drawing with West Germany (3-3) and Canada… but losing to Australia (5-2), Poland (7-4) and India (1-0). For 13th place match, they lost 2-1 to Italy and finished 14th.

1994 11th
Belgium Men’s Hockey team returned to World Cup for their third appearance after missing three past events. But, the performance deteriorated further as this time they failed to win any match at Group Stage losing 4 and drawing 1. They did win the 11th place Classification match to avoid finishing last again.
Results

Group Stage
Lost to Netherlands 8-1
Lost to Germany 6-0
Lost to South Korea 7-2
Drew South Africa 1-1
Lost to India 4-2
Classification: 9-12th place crossover: Lost to Spain 1-1 (8-7)
11th place match: Def Belarus 1-0

2002 14th
After missing 1998 World Cup, Belgium returned for fourth appearance. At Malaysia, they recorded their worst performance. Not only they returned without a win but they also lost all 7 matches at Group Stage and at Classification won one and lost one.
Results

Group Stage
Lost to Spain 2-0
Lost to Pakistan 3-2
Lost to Netherlands 5-1
Lost to Germany 3-0
Lost to Argentina 3-1
Lost to South Africa 3-0
Lost to New Zealand 4-3
Classification: 13-16th Crossover: Def Poland 2-1
13th Place match: lost to South Africa 5-4 (Extra time)

2014 5th
Belgium made 5th appearance in 2014 Men’s Hockey World Cup after skipping two events and their overall improvement was visible as they finished impressive 5th winning 4 of the 6 matches they played.
Results

Group Stage
They finished third at Group Stage, winning three and losing two against the two leaders of Group, Australia and England.
Def India 3-2
Def Malaysia 6-2
Lost to Australia 3-1
Def Spain 5-2
Lost to England 3-2
Classification: 5th place Match: Def Germany 4-2

2018 World Cup
Results

Def Canada 2-1
Drew India 2-2

Belgium at Olympics
Belgium started participating in Olympics from 1920 Olympics. After 1976 Olympics, it did not participate till 2004 Olympics. In 2016 Olympics, entered the final for the first time and won Silver. Before that, it won Bronze in 1920. It has also entered semifinal in 1928 Olympics. At Olympics, till end of 2016 Belgium has played 74 matches, won 30, drawn 10 and lost 34 scoring 139 goals and conceding 150.

World League
After three appearances in Men’s Hockey World League, Belgium has finished Runners up once and 5th twice. In 17 matches, it has won 8, drawn 3 and lost 6, scoring 38 goals and conceding 24 goals.

2012-14 5th
2014-15 2nd
2016-17 5th

European Championship
Participating since 1970, when Belgium hosted the first European Championship, till 2017 Belgium has finished Runners up twice (2013 and 2017), third in 2007 and 4th in 2005 and 2011. Belgiums has played 90 matches, won 41, drawn 15 and lost 35, scoring 216 goals and conceding 213.

Champions Trophy
Belgium qualified for Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy for the first in 2012. Since then, it has participated in all four events finishing 5th third. Playing 24 matches, won 6, drawn 9, lost 9, scored 53 and conceded 61 goals.

2012 5th
2014 8th
2016 5th
2018 5th

Champions Challenge
Among the major tournaments, Belgium won its first title in 2011 winning Champions Challenge at South Africa. Participating from 2001 till 2011, Beglium played 32 matches, won 13, drawn 5, lost 14, scored 80 and conceded 77 goals.